1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the art of illuminated displays, and more particularly to display systems which employ the window areas of buildings, such as office buildings, hotels, banks and the like to convey informational or artistic images to an observer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of signs on buildings to provide information is well known, as exemplified in most big city skylines. An observer today would note logos of insurance companies, banks, manufacturing and service companies, hotels and the like. In many cases the logos are painted onto the structure, and some may be illuminated for nighttime viewing by lighting directed at the building. Others may be made from translucent plastic materials (usually colored) which contain internal lighting to provide viewing capability during the day or at nighttime. Other systems in common use include various electronic display devices, e.g. the time, temperature and interest rate signs used by numerous banks.
It has also been proposed to use the building structures as a "screen" for receiving an image, as is the case with some relatively new laser technology. Furthermore, in some instances it has been proposed to use the windows of certain large buildings to provide information by illuminating only certain ones of the windows in a preselected pattern, darkening surrounding windows to convey the desired information.
While these latter two systems differ substantially from merely adorning a building with a sign, logo or electronic display, the former is very expensive and effective mainly in situations where a building stands apart from other illuminated structures. The latter suffers from a lack of detail and the need to isolate building areas from employees who may be working late, in which case windows other than those preselected for the desired pattern would be illuminated.
Another type of illuminated display is that used by filling stations, convenience stores and the like which employ a translucent, usually internally illuminated, cabinet, having a plurality of open areas for displaying information, e.g. the price of a gallon of gasoline. Some of these displays are very large, as exemplified by the highway signs mounted many feet above the ground on huge poles. Observers receive information from electronic displays or in some cases from scrolling rolls of transparent film having opaque indicia on them. Electronic controls allow the individual scrolls to be adjusted so that the price display may be changed. These devices provide illuminated displays of information at discrete openings.
To the knowledge of the present inventor, no building display systems are known in which different displays in adjacent window openings interact to create an overall artistic or informational impression. Such a system would provide very substantial opportunities to artists and provide users of the system with opportunities to provide information, advertize their goods or services, obtain advertising income from others or create unique visual statements of an artistic nature designed to enhance the appearance of a skyline or an individual structure.